The world flickered.
Davin's vision blurred as his blood stained the grass beneath him, pain burning through every fiber of his body.
His shoulder throbbed with agony, warm blood soaking the shredded fabric of his sleeve.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't even speak.
And breathing felt like trying to suck air through shattered lungs.
Few meters away from him, the monstrous ladybug-like beast stood on the tree trunk watching him.
Its sickle-bladed limbs twitching and its grotesque compound eyes locking onto its prey.
It then opened it wings, intending to approach him.
The air reeked of iron, and the buzzing of its wings trembled through the earth beneath him.
Then, as the last strand of consciousness frayed in Davin's mind, he heard it.
A voice.
Reassuring and coldly gentle.
[Don't worry, host. You won't die. I'll explain why I tricked you into this situation… later.]
The voice came from his system.
And then, silence.
The boy's eyes rolled back. His breathing slowly stopping...
The Feralkin ranked beast clicked in triumph and opened its wings wider, lifting into the air with a hungry shriek.
It hovered above the limp child, eager to tear into him before the warmth of life faded away completely.
But just as it descended—
It quickly halted midair.
Something had changed.
The boy's body twitched.
Then, slowly and impossibly, he lifted his head.
His golden eyes fluttered open—not dazed, not desperate.
But calm.
Focused.
And glowing.
The class E beast froze midflight and assessed him, a bit puzzled by the sudden change.
Glowing golden irises stared back at it, serene yet terrifying.
On the other hand, boy's presence no longer felt prey-like.
It was something older. Something that will ever refuse to yield to anyone but itself.
A sound immediately echoed in his head.
[Warning]
[The Curse of Pride has activated]
[All stats ×5]
[Attack power ×10]
[Warning]
—Curse triggered under weak physical state.
[-500 Pulse Points per minute.]
[Current Balance: 3870]
The Feralkin beast flinched, wings faltering.
Its primal instincts warning it to keep distance.
This was no longer the child it had been chasing.
No longer an easy prey.
Rather, something unnatural that was staring back at it with predatory intent.
But being of beast-kind, it knew fear—and more dangerously, it knew weakness
It circled him at a cautious distance, weighing it's options...
The boy was still wounded, after all.
And that cursed golden glow could also just be a bluff.
Then, the boy stood.
His pants were torn, chest rising slowly. One shoulder was drenched in blood, but there was no open wound beneath it now.
His stance, grounded and controlled.
Another
[Host has spent 1700 Pulse Points to restore stamina and health to full.]
[New Balance: 1670]
[Time Elapsed: 1 minute – 500 Pulse Points deducted. Balance: 1170]
The Feralkin beast let out a piercing screech, its earlier hesitation vanishing, assuming that the "injured" boy would be able to hold his ground against it.
Thinking that the boy's earlier injury is his weakness.
It darted forward like a crimson blur, sickle-blades aimed to split the boy in half.
Davin didn't flinch.
At the last second, he shifted his weight and leaned back, narrowly dodging the strike.
With fluid grace, he then twisted mid-motion, spun into a backward somersault, and landed behind the creature's left flank.
Then came the blow.
His fist crashed into the beast's head with a sickening crack, sending it flying into a tree with thunderous force.
Bark exploded upon collision with bits of wood sent everywhere.
The creature screeched, green blood leaking from a jagged crack on its exoskeleton.
It tried to flee, realizing the gap in strength and the mistake it made in underestimating its opponent.
Too late though.
Davin landed on top of it, his heel stomping down onto the beast's wings, crippling them and pinning the beast to the earth.
It struggled, but the weight pressing down on it wasn't just physical—it was rather unnatural and suppressive...
Of a child whose his golden eyes screamed of death rather than beauty.
[500 Pulse Points deducted. New Balance: 670]
[Stamina: 50/90]
Words flickered across Davin's system screen, but he ignored them. He stared down at the beast, indifferent and composed.
"We're all beasts here," he whispered.
"It's either I die so you can live… or you die so I can."
His voice was cold and absolute.
"The fittest survive. That's law."
The beast, desperate and cornered, released one final shriek.
It lunged—its cracked blades swiping at Davin in a last act of savagery.
But it was too slow.
Another blow crashed down on its head.
Making its world descend into darkness.
"And I'm the fittest one."
[500 Pulse Points deducted. Balance: 170]
[Stamina: 10/90]
Davin's arms trembled.
His body finally gave in. He dropped beside the beast's ruined form as the power sustaining him began to unravel.
But before darkness could also claim him completely, he heard the system again.
[+3000 Pulse Points]
—You have defeated a High-Tier Feralkin Beast!
[+7 bonus to all Stats]
—A beast seven times your strength has fallen using bare hands and no mana.
[New skill available for purchase: Forge – 10,000 Pulse Points]
[...Scratch that. The Admin bought it for you.]
—You acquired a new skill:
[Forge]
[Tier: Uncommon]
— Allows crafting of weapons and accessories using real-world materials: metal, wood, beast parts. Requires Pulse Points as fuel.
Text streamed across his screen.
But Davin was already too unconscious to read...